Sprinkler



E. G. MUNZ SPRINKLER June 24, 1930.

Filed Aug. 6, 1928 auoantoas [Zrzerifliay Patented June 24, 1930 ED ..ST ES PATE T v i V iiwnzror small,steam-15;; j hppHcationmeaaugu'ste,l928I 1 Serla1iito.297,6?9bki1 The'invention relates to spray heads'adapted "for use in sprinkling systems for lawns and the like, and is particularly applicable in systems where the, spray heads are permane'ntly installed inthe ground to be nordnally flush with the surface thereof and the nozzle itself is slidable within the head so as to be projected above the ground Whenever the water supply is turned'on. Formerly it has been the practice to'co'nstructthe entire sprayer of some non-'corrodible metal such as bronze. It has been found however, that when the s rinkling systemis installed upon a base bal football or' other athletic field that there is great danger of the players falling upon the exposed upper surfaces of the sprayer heads and nozzles and seriously injuring themselves. It has also been found that even when the sprinkling systems are installed in parks, cemeteries and the like where tractors or power mowers are used for cutting the grass, the exposed por-' tions of the sprinklers are liable to be damaged by these tools. It is the object of the present invention to eliminate these objectionable features by forming the parts of the sprinklers normally exposed to view, of some resilient material such as rubber. Thus if a player happened to fall upon one of the resilient heads the likelihood of his being injured is greatly minimized, or if a power mower ran over an exposed head, the latter would merely be compressed with no injury to the sprinkler.

With the above and other objectsin view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combinations and ar-v rangements of parts as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sprinkler constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section thereof; and

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the construction as illustrated in the drawing, the numeral 1 represents generally the fixed casing of the deground so that'the'up'per surface 4:

threaded at 10 vice providedwith' thread n for receiving the water supply pipe-3i Where system, it is usual to :burythe sa bsta'htially flush withthe I preferably made of two'- parts, the lower body The body edf. connection 2 the casing is used 'fo'r the-"lawnsprmkling in- 'tlie ground. The" casing is g 'portion'5-for'med of mtaland the"detachable upper portion or"collar'6"formed of "rubber :or some other resilient'material.

portion 5 has a smoothlyfinishedcyliridrical surface 7 of slightlylarger di'a'mfeterthanthe threaded POI'tIOII-ZU' the upper endfloflthe body 5 there is preferablyprovided an outer flange 8 formedwithztsuitable wrench hold.

Above the. "flange- 8 the body-is extriorly' and the lower end-of-the collar is fitted over this threaded portion andsecured to the bo-dybyme'ansof a suitable clamp 11, this clamppressingthe"rubber into the serrations formed by the threads'and thus 1 insuring :a'tight j oint. Thecollar is preferably formed with a top flange '12 and hasan annular recess 13 inrthe top surface 4'ther'eof for the purpose hereinafter described. The collar is also provided with the inwardly ex tending annulan'flan e 14 of smaller diameter than the cylindrical surface 7 and this flange has on the underside" thereof, a: conical seat15. r 16 is a; slidable' nozzle member arranged within the casing 1 and, adapted to. normally be entirely contained within the same with its upper surface flush with the upper surface of the casin The nozzle member comprises a conical shoulder 19. forming a .valve whic'h is adapted to engage the conicalseat 15 when the-nozzle memberv is raised by the waterpressure; The nozzle memberhas a hollow Q interior 20,- through which the water is delivered to discharge apertures 21. These apertures surround an upstanding stem22 to i which is secured a spray directing member 23. Similar to the collar 6 this member is formed of rubberand consists-of a conic'aldirecting' portion 24 and a cap 25 having aflat With the sp upper surface adapted to lie flush with the upper surfaceof the flange when the nozzle is in inoperative position. The member 23 is preferably molded to the upper end of the stem 22, the latter being provided with a head 26 for preventing r, the member from beingpulled ofi thestem. f 7

rinkler constructed in the manner above recited, it will be evident that when the nozzle is in its lower inoperative position with the cap received in the recess-13 that all of the parts exposed to vieware formed of a resilient material such-.35.. rubber; therefore any blow received from a vehicle passing over the sprinkler will, be cushioned with no damaging pefiectto any of the sprinkler parts.

, I With such arrangement a person falling upon one-of the sprinklerswil-l come into contactwith a soft yieldable-surface instead of a hard metallic one and will thus be protected frominjury It; will therefore be apparent that I have provided an improved form of sprinkler which objectionable features present in sprinklers now in use have been eliminated withoutsacrificing any of the ad vantages thereof. 3 y invention is: I

.What I claim as m -1, In a sprinkler forlawns and a casing havingits-npper portionaformed of aresilientmaterial and. lying substantially flush with the surface of the ground, a nozzle member movable in said casing and having a metallicstem, vand a resilient spray direct ,ing member secured to the upper end of said ber slidably mounted in said casing and providedwith an upper shouldered portion constituting a valve adapted to engage said seat when the nozzle is in its lower inoperative position, the aforesaid upper-portions being I formed of a resilient material.

4.- In avsprinkler for lawns and the like, a casing adapted to. be positioned below the surface of the ground, a protective collar mounted upon the upper end of said casing, having an opening therethrough, and having an upper surface adapted to be substantially flush with the surface "of the ground, and a nozzle movable longitudinally of the casing and having spray directing and cap portions respectively of yieldable material adapted when in inoperative position to be received thelike,

within the opening aforesaid in said collar so that said cap portion when in this inoperas tive position is in the horizontal plane of and cooperates with the collar of yieldable material to provide a yieldable protective covering for said casing and nozzle;

5. In a' sprinkler for lawns and the like, a casing, a collar silient material and having an opening there through, 'a nozzle movable relative to the casing and having a resilient element shaped to provide a spray directing portion and a cap portion and adapted when the nozzle is in inoperative position to be received Within the opening within the collar and to cooperate therewith to form a sectional protective covering for the casing and other portions of the nozzle within the casing.

'6. -In a sprinkler for lawns and the like, a

casing, a collar upon the casing, and a nozzle movable relative to the casing and having a resilient element shaped to provide a spray directing portion and a cap portion and adapted when the nozzle is in inoperative position to be received within a portion of the collar whereby the upper surfaces of said cap portion and collar are substantially flush.

for the casing formed of re- In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

. ELMER G. MUNZ.

' fine and provided witha seat, and a nozzle mem- 

